Q6 Full Business Plan - Heathrow Airport

4. Our proposition for Q6
Improve capacity utilisation
Deliver improved
resilience and sufficient
hub capacity
4.2.2 Improve capacity utilisation
We expect to see passengers
continuing to benefit from many
airlines operating their most modern
aircraft on Heathrow routes and by
the end of Q6 Heathrow is likely to
be the busiest A380 hub airport in
Europe. Heathrow will support these
developments by investing in new
and upgraded stands and taxiways
that can handle these longer, wider
aircraft. These investments are
fundamental to providing capacity
to underpin growth in passenger
numbers, but are dependent on
airlines realising their new fleet plans.
Stands will be re-engineered and
taxiways re-designed to ensure that
the flow of aircraft around the
airfield is optimised. We will provide
these stands across T2 and T3 to
serve airline needs, especially for
new code F aircraft. The step change
in fuel efficiency and, consequently,
unit costs offered by these nextgeneration
aircraft will greatly
benefit our airlines, and will also
reduce aircraft noise.
We will also see big improvements
on the ground, reducing taxiing
times, and enabling airlines to save
fuel and reduce their carbon
footprint. As T2 is completed we will
see a more efficient airfield layout
and the northern taxiway will be
enabled for code F aircraft. We will
also address the operational
challenges facing the airfield – such
as more frequent operation close to
the air transport movement (ATM)
cap, a general increase in aircraft
size, and continuing growth of air
traffic elsewhere in the London area.
© Heathrow Airport Limited 2013
Heathrow Q6 Full Business Plan - Public version | Chapter 4 Page 29